Vietnam to grant licence for $22 bln refinery, petchem complex early next year

Vietnam will grant the licence for a $22 billion refinery and petrochemical
complex that will be jointly developed by Thailand's top energy company PTT Pcl
and Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, no later than February
2015, a Vietnamese government official said on Monday.

The project would be among the biggest foreign direct investments on record
in the energy-hungry nation, where a lack of facilities has forced Asia's
third-largest crude oil reserves holder to import 70 percent of its demand for
fuel and oil products.

"It (PTT) will establish a joint venture with (Saudi) Aramco, while the
issue right now is that there is no Vietnamese counterpart," said Man Ngoc Ly,
head of the Nhon Hoi economic zone in the central province of Binh Dinh, where
the project will be developed.

"The two firms will ensure 50 percent in capital each, and if there is a
Vietnamese counterpart joining the project, they will spare the funding room
for the Vietnamese side," Ly added.

He said the provincial authority will grant the licence as soon as the firms
complete administrative procedures to establish a joint venture in Vietnam,
which would likely take place no later than February, Ly said.

PTT has said each of the two firms plans to own 40 percent of the project in
Binh Dinh province, with the Vietnamese government holding the remaining
stake.

PTT said construction of the oil refinery could begin in 2016 and it was
expected to start operations in 2021.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the project, which is
designed to refine 20 million tonnes of crude oil annually, or 400,000 barrels
per day, the government said in a report on its website late last week.

The refinery's capacity may be raised to 30 million tonnes per year in 2021
while the total investment could expand to $30 billion, the government report
said.

Vietnam now has just one working refinery and petrochemical complex Dung
Quat, which refines 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year, and is due to
increase the processing capacity to 10 million tonnes of crude annually by
2021.

The country has planned two other refineries, each with a capacity of 10
million tonnes of crude per year. They are scheduled to start operations in
2017 and 2020, respectively.